Here's an article i wish to share with you. Its written by Amatullah Abdullah. {I donno who he is but liked the content of it. I wish our members to correct it if u find it wrong any where}

A sister requested me to write an article on "Gheebah". I asked myself , " How can i write or talk about Gheebah when i myself is not free from it ------" And then i realized that i shud write about it, in order to remind and warn myself and my dear brothers and sisters in Islam.

Now what does Gheebah mean?

In Arabic backbiting or slandering or any misuse of the toungue is Gheebah. It comes from the root : Gha - yaa- Baa, meaning that which is unseen. Gheebah is totalk about your brother or sister in such a manner that he or she would dislike it if told before them. Gheebah is one of the major sins in Islam because it hurts ithers and destroys their self esteem. We sacrifice the honor of our brothers and sisters when we commit gheebah.

We, as muslims shud be loving and compassionate with one another. An islamic speaker said , " Even in our thoughts one shud honour his brothers and sisters in Islam." Gheebah is one of the biggest and most evil of the wreckers of this compassion, love, and brotherhood.

Do we know that Gheebah will wach away our good deeds and our good deeds would be snatched from us and given to the one against whom we spoke ill off on the Day of Judgement? Yes ! This is what will happen to one who indulges in Gheebah !

We will have survived all of the horrible trials, the judgement, the bridge and the huge thorns which snatch us according to our deeds and throw us into Hell. {Sahih Bukhari ; Volume 8, Book 76, Number 577} We will have been thru all this, only to lose all our good deeds because we cud not, or would not, control our toungue.

The Prophet s.a.w.s has clearly defined Gheebah {backbiting} for us, so that we can identify and keep away from this terrible sin.

Abu Hurairah [ RA] narrated that Prophet {s.a.w.s} said, " Do u know what is backbiting ?" There upon he {Prophet} said , "Backbiting implies your talking about your brother in a manner which he does not like." It was said to him, " What if i say about my brother is true?" He said , " If what u said about him is true , then u would have back bitten him, and if it is not true, then he is slandered [buhtaan] {Reported in saheeh Muslim ; hadeeth 1183, Sahih Muslim : Book 31, NUmber 6265, Abu Dawud, Ahmad, Tirmidhi etc} and in other hadith Al0mutallib ibn Abdullah said , " The messenger of Allah said , "Gheebah {backbiting} means that a man mentions about a person something which is true, behind his back." [Al - Suyuti, Zawa'id Al Jami from report something similar with a Mursal Isnad as mentioned in Al-Sahihah, No. 1992}

Narrated Aisha RA , " I said to the Prophet {s.a.w.s] : "It is enough for u in Saffiyah that she is such and such" {the other version than Musaddad's has the meaning that she was short-statured}. He replied, " U have said a word which would change the sea if it were mixed in it -------" { Sunan Abu Dawud Book 41, Number 4857}

The Prophet says that Allah is the Judge of Judges and taht no one can judge as Allah judges. If one is judgemental, he is making himseld into judge with no authority from the Judge of the Judges, when he says ; "So and so is a no-good person " We shud remember that we are not the judgeof our Lord's servants; He created them and judges them as He wills ! Whoever ignores this point is competing with Allah and taking his attribute of Al-Hakeem {The Judge} and setting himself as partner against Allah. What a grave mistake ! Don't we know that Allah would forgive any sin except Shirk ? This is definetly shirk !

This {Gheebah} is indeed a terrible sin but do we realize it? No! It has become so common in our lives that we actually fail to realize it and we take it so lightly.

Insha-Allah, rest of the part, at my next post.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

A Muslim commits Gheebah sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. There may be numerous reasons to cause one to commit gheebah. The following examples are among these reasons

1. Lack of fear of Allah [and dis-obeying His commands on prohibitions}

Whoever feels the greatness of ALLAH SWT and acknowledges that Allah is watching all his deeds and utterances , he would avoid anything that may displease Allah swt.

2. Getting things off one's chest.

A person may do something to upset another. Every time the aggrieved person feels angry about it, he alleviates the anxiety by making gheebah of the other person.

3. Joining, by agreeing with a group of friends.

When a group is engaged in loose talk aimed at slandering others a person may think that if he speaks out and tries to stop them they may dislike him and exclude him. So he joins them in talking ill about others assuring himself that this is the only way to be acceptable to them.

4. Seeking to raise one's own status by putting down others.

A person may say - " Such and such person is ignorant ; he is not smart." The intention is to praise oneself and show that he has more knowledge than the other person.

5. Envy and Jealousy.

Some person may be praised by people who liked him. A jealous person may hear them and make gheebah of the other person crticizing and insulting him, so that the people may think differently about the perosn just praised.

6. Fooling around and joking.

One may mention some person in such a way as to make others laugh. There are even some people who make a living in this way.

7. Seeking to earn the approval of others for status.

Needless to say, there are more motives for Gheebah , and they are far too many to list.

Allah swt, has forbidden this evil act and has warned us about it in His Glorious Book. The first verse of Surah Humazah says :

Woe to every Humazah Lumazah { Woe to every slanderer and back biter !"}

In another verse Allah says it is like eating flesh of one's own brother!

Surah Hujurat - 12. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicion is sin. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother You would hate it { so hate back biting }. And have Taqwa of Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful

The following show that we cannot be indifferent to the issue of Gheebah.

Chapter Noor -verse 15.Behold, you received it on your tongues, and uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very serious.

Chapter - Isra Verse - 36. And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allah).)

Chapter 50 , verse - 18. Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it].

Edited by seekshidayath

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

The Prophet describes the torment that the people who commit Gheebah would face.

Anas RA, related that the Prophet {s.a.w.s} said, " When i ascended to the heavens i passed by a group of people with nails of copper, combing their faces and chests with it. I asked : "Who are those people, Jibreel?", i asked

Jibreel replied : " Those are the ones who eat the flesh of people and backbite them" {Abu Dawood}

In another Hadith :Narrated Abu Burdhah al-Aslami : "The Prophet {s.a.w.s} said : "O community of people, who believed by their tongue , and belief did not enter their hearts, do not backbite Muslims, and do not search for their faults, for if anyone searches for their faults, Allah will search for his fault, and if Allah searches for the fault of anyone, He disgraces him in the open for everyone to see, even if he hid it in the innermost part of his house." Sunan Abu Dawud : Book 41, Number 4862, Sahih Suan Al Tirmidhi {1655}

Surah Humazah in the Holy Quran describes clearly that one who indulges in Gheebah is in clear error and in great loss.1. Woe to every slanderer and backbiter2. Who has gathered wealth and counted it.3. He thinks that his wealth will make him last forever4. Nay ! Verily he will thrown into the crushing fire5. And what will make you know what the crushing Fire is?6. The fire of Allah, kindled7. Which leaps up over the hearts8. Verily, it shall be closed in on them9. In pillars streched forth {i.e they will be punished in the Fire with pillars, etc}

These verses tell us about the terrible punishment that befalls the Muslim who commit Gheebah.

Allah teaches us to speak out against slander and try to put a stop to it in the following verse :"And why did you not, when you heard it, say : "It is not right of us to speak of this ; Glory to God, this is a most serious slander?" {Surah An-Nur 24 :16 }

Just as talking about others is forbidden so too is listening to it. Allah says, "And follow {O Man} [i.e say not, or do not or witness not etc} that of which you have no knowledge {Example, one's saying : "I have seen, "While in fact has not seen, or "i have heard", while he has not heard} Verily! The hearing and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned {by Allah}" {Surah Al-Israa :36}

Narrated Abu Hurairah :" The Prophet {s.a.w.s} said, " Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day shud talk what is good or keep quiet, and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day shud not hurt {or insult} his neighbour ----"{Sahih Bukhari : Volume 8, Book 76, Number 482}

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

However under some circumstances a person is allowed to talk about his brothers or sisters. The following are the only circumstances where a muslim is allowed to talk about his brother or sister in Islam.

1. If the person is being oppressed,

In this case you are allowed to talk about the person who oppresses so that the oppressed may take what is rightfully his. He shud only talk out of necessity and only to the one who can assist the opressed person in taking his right from the oppressor.

2. Requesting a fatwa.

For example, you may say "my brother did such and such {recalling the event} what do i do?" It is permitted to recall the incident and not mention the name of the person {this is better} so that a fatwa may be obtained.

3. When seeking marriage, setting up a business or being a witness.

If a man asked another about a third person who had proposed, it is permitted for the one being asked to say what he knows about the one who had proposed. When talking about him {the one seeking marriage} the one who knows him shud be honest about what he says, without diminishing the person's value nor exaggerating his faults

4. Cautioning people about bad/evil doers.

If a person propogates forbidden or evil things, or something which contains shirk. It is permitted to warn people about that person until they are convinced about the misleading information.

These four circumstances under which backbiting {where the sole intent is to provide TRUE information only by God fearing souls} is permitted and has certain conditions which shud be fulfilled. Purity of intention for Allah {swt}. He shud not talk about the faults of a man {who has proposed to a woman} because of envy or dislike. It is a responsibility and a trust which Allah has ordered.

And Allah knows the Best.

Dear members. many times do we either knowingly or unknowingly indulge in Gheebah. May Allah swt, forgive us. Insha-Allah we be mindful of what we utter and restrain ourselves from this sin.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."

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